Budget cuts may put end to 'Code Red' pollution alerts

Forecasts warn people with respiratory problems about poor air quality

11:02 PM,
Jan. 26, 2013

Haze hangs over downtown Salt Lake City. The geography that makes Utah one of the world's most beautiful places also brings the nation's dirtiest air in winter, when an icy fog smothers mountain valleys for days or weeks at a time.

Written by

Dan Vergano
| USA Today

Federal weather officials are proposing to cut ozone and smog forecasts - the ones behind local warnings to the sick and elderly about "Code Red" days for air pollution.

The proposal to shelve the $5.4 million National Air Quality Forecast Capability forecasts in March has drawn protests from public health officials in 22 states, the cities of Philadelphia, Jacksonville and Denver, as well as Midwestern officials of the Environmental Protection Agency. Public health officials from coast to coast rely on the National Weather Service forecasts to warn patients with asthma and other ...